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Emmett O'Connell

In the last month or so, a new "First Amendement Auditor" has been active around Olympia.

Most basically, first amendment auditors are people that test their ability to record in public spaces without being stopped.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Am

/1

en.wikipedia.orgFirst Amendment audits - Wikipedia

You can't convince them not to record. Nothing you say about specific security concerns about whatever space you're in will convince them to just move on. By even approaching him to try to move along voluntarily is convincing him to hang out even more.

/2

They want engagement. The point of the "audit" is to get someone to come up and give him trouble. "GET OFF MY SIDEWALK," "ARE YOU INVESTIGATING SOMETHING," and "CARWASH FULL OF SNOWFLAKES" are the titles of videos a local 1A Auditor posted because this is the kind of content he's looking for.

They're content creators. If they don't get the kind of content they're looking for (people talking to them, getting angry), they're going to move along. The best thing to do is just ignore them.

/3

@emmettoconnell You know, the point used to be making sure law enforcement respect the right to film in public spaces. Now it’s just about harassing people and getting views.

It’s a real bummer to see because I do think there’s incredible value in teaching people about their rights when interacting with law enforcement in public spaces.